City: Chennai

Governor's behaviour at Press Meet sparks controversy Chennai has been witnessing an abundance of action week after week, though not all may have been reason to cheer. While the Cauvery protests and IPL grabbed the limelight a week ago, this week it was the State head, His Excellency Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who stirred up controversy over his allegedly objectionable behaviour. At a press meet that he called for, on an incident involving Madurai professor Nirmaladevi, he ended up inviting the wrath of the journalists for his uncalled for behaviour. “The incident took place when the 78-year-old Governor was about to…

For our readers in English Chennai has over 1350 Anganwadis under the ICDS. Contrary to popular perception, many of these centres are clean, well appointed with teaching aids, toys etc (maybe lacking in infrastructure as compared to private playschools and daycare centres) and well run by dedicated teachers and employees who take a holistic view of the daily needs of a 2/3 year old child. In addition, many anganwadis also serve as centres for spreading awareness about maternal and child health, importance of nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood, vaccination etc ஒருங்கிணைந்த குழந்தைகள் வளாகம் (ICDS) - ஒரு பார்வை பொருளாதாரத்தின் எந்நிலையில்…

With an open sore infested with maggots and blood staining her blouse, S Husena, a 56-year-old cancer patient from Tambaram had given up on life. Diagnosed with fourth stage breast cancer, she knew death was near. As she witnessed her body being eaten away by maggots, Husena felt a strong urge to kill herself. Her life took a positive turn after the volunteers from one of the palliative care organisations in Chennai treated her. The nurse not only convinced Husena to take pain killers, but also treated her infection. This enabled the patient to accept her illness and allow the family…

He wears a loupe on one side of his eye and closely scrutinises the mechanism of an old made-in-China watch. Watches of all ages and sizes lie scattered on a bench before him in his workshop in a small lane leading to the Guindy suburban Railway station. He is not disturbed by the crowds outside or the never-ending noise in the busy lane outside. A scene such as this -- of a watch mechanic immersed in his job -- was once a common sight in all the populated bylanes of Chennai, but has become a rare sight for quite some…

Dr Sowmya Sanak Kumar Athreya, co-founder of Svarakshema Foundation shared her experiences on how music can be a powerful healer. As a singer and music therapist, Sowmya has been researching how music therapy can heal physical and psychological diseases and uplift the lives of people. Sharing one of her experiences, Sowmya said, “A 7-year-old kid with a kidney ailment and cerebral palsy was placed under music therapy to control his anger. He would often get admitted to the hospital due to allergies and would throw away all the tubes connected in anger and frustration. After being treated for a year,…

Action inside and outside Chepauk; CSK team and IPL fans disappointed with turn of things On an otherwise normal day, with the Chennai Super Kings staging a comeback, the city of Chennai would be bleeding yellow. But the day for which all cricket fanatics in the city had been waiting for, turned into an ugly battle ground with fringe groups staging demonstrations and calling for cancellation of the match. High drama was witnessed as some of the protestors shouting slogans for cancellation of the match in support of the Cauvery Management Board broke barricades. To control the situation, the police…

Public parks play a key role in recreation and health of citizens. For children growing up in fast developing, concretised urbanscapes, time spent in parks is their only respite from walls -- in their houses and schools and tuitions. It is a good thing for citizens, therefore, that renovation of parks gets a mention in almost all annual budgets of the Chennai Corporation. However, a visit to some of the public parks in the city will break your heart. On the ground, these parks are anything but child friendly, with most of the play equipment and accessories to engage children…

Where? As the sun  began to descend, the already buzzing Koyambedu market road came alive with more action as hundreds of people assembled at a local hotel for the Sakkadai Thiruvizha, organised by Arappor Iyakkam. The event on April 8th was envisioned as a citizen awareness program to highlight the problem of untreated sewage that is being continuously let out into the city’s water bodies, spelling doom for them as well as for the entire ecosystem. The highlight Officials from Chennai Corporation, PWD and CMWSSB  came together on a single platform to listen to the woes of the people. It…

A three-hour-long fire that raged at the landfill at Kodungaiyur on Monday morning was extinguished by firefighters and Chennai Corporation workers. Thick smoke rising from the fire hung over the area for a few more hours, as a reminder of the regular peeve of residents here. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) seemed almost prepared to handle the emergency, since fires are hardly uncommon here. The GCC and the fire department employed 12 Sintex tankers of 2000 litre capacity each and two tankers of 12,000 litre capacity to douse the blaze. “Formation of Methane gas from the landfill would have caused the…

Actor Revathi was the first speaker at the event. "It is the good deeds and good people around us who still keep our hopes intact for a better world," she began, drawing reference to all the negativity around us. "As a mother I feel there has been a drastic change, change for the good. It has given me the inquisitiveness to delve deep and question every happening. I feel the urge to leave behind the best for the young generation," added the actor. She insisted that the responsibility of transferring the knowledge that we gain in our lives and the goodness…